Most of the world's cacao is grown in a band spanning 20 degrees of latitude north and south of the equator, as the cacao tree (Theobroma cacao) needs a humid, hot tropical environment in which to grow and fruit healthy cacao pods that contain the cacao bean. Harvested when ripe, the average cacao pod produces 20 to 50 cacao beans emulsed in mucilaginous pulp. Generally, cacao beans are prepared for the market by fermenting the beans for four to seven days (to remove the pulp, a step also known as demucilaging which may be accomplished by other methods known in the art) and the beans are dried for another five to fourteen days. There are about 20 different species of cacao and hundreds of hybrids. Of these, four major varietals dominate the commercial chocolate market. Forastero cacao accounts for approximately 90% of the world's cacao market. Criollo cacao accounts for about 7% of the global market, and is characterized as a finer, gourmet cacao that is more difficult to grow than Forastero. Trinitario cacao is a Forastero/Criollo hybrid that grows well in Trinidad. Nacional cacao is prized for having low bitterness and a sweet floral aroma, but is difficult to grow commercially. A majority of the world's cacao is produced in the Ivory Coast. This volume represents over 1 million tons per year. Ghana, Indonesia, Cameroon, Brazil, and Nigeria produce major amounts of cacao as well. Cacao is consumed world-wide, usually in the form of chocolate, which is a mixture solidified cacao liquor and sweeteners, among other components.
It is common for cacao beans to be treated with superheated steam to mitigate the bacterial content. It is believed that treating cacao beans with saturated steam also removes some of the desirable flavor components. Sugars and other sweeteners are mixed with cacao powder to form good-tasting chocolate. Often other flavors are added. Currently many health advocates, while acknowledging the health benefits of cacao, warn against the risks of excessive use of sweeteners including sugar and artificial sweeteners.
What is desired is a way of manufacturing cacao that achieves a great tasting product without the need for excessive sweetening. What is also desired is a way of processing cacao that retains desirable flavor components while minimizing the less desirable flavor components. Further, it is desirable to rely on natural processes to achieve a great tasting product. Cacao is a complex food reported to contain over 20,000 different chemical compounds, making this a complex and hard-to-predict task.
A need remains in the art for improved cacao products having reduced levels of undesirable taste components and/or increased levels of flavor and/or health promoting components relative to cacao beans or other agricultural substrate, and for methods of obtaining such products.